Wood as a commodity.
The Palatinate Forest is a mixed forest. The ratio of deciduous trees to conifers is almost balanced. Pine and beech trees are the most abundant. Oaks, spruces and Douglas firs each make up almost 10 percent of the tree population. They make the area a colorful and structurally rich mixed forest of high ecological value. A special feature of the region are the chestnut forests of the Haardtrand, a piece of Roman heritage in the Palatinate.
With the beginning of regulated forestry at the beginning of the 18th century, wood became scarce for the first time due to the overexploitation of the local forests. Therefore, it was determined at that time: only as much wood may be harvested as new trees are planted. This principle of "proper and sustainable forestry" still applies today.
In the Palatinate Forest, the concept is called "near-natural forest management". Principles include:
- Timber harvesting only after individual tree maturity instead of clear-cutting entire areas,
- ecosystem-compatible management of game populations,
- Preference for natural regeneration of the tree population instead of untested plantings, and
- the avoidance of chemical products.
As everywhere else, technical progress has also fundamentally changed work in the forest. The introduction of the motor-driven chain saw in the 1950s revolutionized manual timber harvesting. Compared to working with a handsaw and axe, it now takes only a fraction of the time it used to take to fell a tree, remove its branches and cut it into suitable pieces.
Since the late 1980s, the physically difficult manual work involved in timber harvesting has been taken over in part by full harvester machines. Computers support the operation of the machine when felling, limbing and cutting the trees, as well as measuring the raw wood.
Of course, forestry work also takes place regularly in the Ganerben forest district. The corresponding area is then marked and closed off over a large area. Entering the forest at this point is then strictly prohibited for safety reasons.